The swollen rivers of Western Turkey cut dark blue ribbons across the brilliant green landscape of this false-color <a href="http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov" target="outlink">Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer</a> (MODIS) image. Starting on January 22, 2004, a rare <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=11924" target="outlink">winter storm</a> blanketed Western Turkey with snow. The equivalent of a month’s precipitation fell around Istanbul in just 24 hours. By February 7, when the <a href="http://aqua.nasa.gov/" target="outlink"> Aqua</a> satellite acquired this image, most of the snow had melted, filling the rivers that flow into the Aegean Sea. The Meric (Evros) River in the top left corner, and the Menderes River in the bottom third of the image seem particularly full. Only patches of snow, which appear light blue in this image, remain in the higher elevations.The high resolution image above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in <a href="http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/Turkey.A2004038.1110.721" target="outlink">additional resolutions</a>, including MODIS’ maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Sensor: Aqua/MODIS.

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